


red sea

by ohthelinsanity



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-12
Updated: 2015-04-12
Packaged: 2018-03-22 14:33:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3732445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohthelinsanity/pseuds/ohthelinsanity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As it turns out, the considerable height difference between Kagami and Kuroko is comical at best and absolutely lethal at worst. But it's not Kagami's fault. Honestly. He didn't mean for his elbow to torpedo straight into Kuroko's nose.</p>
            </blockquote>





	red sea

As it turns out, the considerable height difference between Kagami and Kuroko is comical at best and absolutely lethal at worst.

Kuroko isn’t saying anything: not a whine, a cry, or a shout. He’s simply standing under the basket, one hand on his knee and the other clutching at his face. Kagami freezes and watches, waits for Kuroko to move to prove that the _crunch_ he heard was a part of his imagination.

Red seeps through his fingers and drips on the court. Although drip isn’t the best word: maybe _pool_ , or _pour_ or _flood._ Kagami’s never been to the red sea but he figures he doesn’t have to anymore because there it is, right in front of him, pouring like Niagara Falls out of Kuroko’s nose.

Aw, shit.

“Kuroko.” Kagami jogs over and reaches for the hand clasped over his face, but Kuroko flinches away and gives the slightest shake of his head. “Kuroko, let me see.”

Blue hair is in his face, but Kagami can tell that his eyes are screwed shut in pain.

“Dude, I am _so_ sorry,” Kagami pleads. “I didn’t see you there.”

It seems Hyuga and the rest of the team are catching up to speed and he hears Izuki bark his name from the other side of the court. One of the first years shouts that Kuroko’s bleeding and Kagami thinks yeah no shit he’s bleeding; astronauts could see this blood from space.

Kagami figures he’s got about 4.3 seconds until Kiyoshi comes over with that rag and sees just what he’s done to their star passer. “Kuroko,” he whispers harshly. “Man, come on, let me see it.”

“It’s broken,” Kuroko finally admits, hand still slapped to his face. He does, however, stand straight and Kagami can see the blood that has dripped down his chin and onto his t-shirt.

Kiyoshi comes over and takes a knee. “Okay,” he says, the rag in his hand hovering over Kuroko’s face. “Let’s see it.”

The rest of their team comes and crowds just in time for the big reveal. Kuroko removes his hand and the gym fills with the cacophonous sound of shouts and curses and sympathetic hisses that come from scrunching, wincing faces. As for Kagami, his own hands come to cover his mouth, thumbs tucked under his chin and fingers pressed together like a prayer. And oh my God, is Kagami praying.

“It’s broken,” Kuroko repeats plainly, allowing Kiyoshi to press the rag to his face; he winces slightly, but doesn’t flinch away from his touch.

“No _shit!”_ Hyuga screams. He takes his glasses and pushes them up his head and leans forward for a better look. “It’s bent in _half!”_

Kagami might throw up.

“I hardly doubt that,” Kuroko replies, taking a tentative step toward the benches off on the side. Izuki reaches out and grabs his elbow and guides him to the seat, the rest of the team following like puppies save for Kagonei who actually _slips on the blood left on the court holy shit._

Kuroko heaves a heavy sigh as he takes a seat, blindly reaching for another rag: the first one is already considerably damp with blood. Kagami manages to shove the rest of his teammates aside and crouches on his toes in front of Kuroko, one hand resting on his knee.  He reaches up and swipes the clean towel away from Kuroko’s face to get a good look for himself and whines.

It kinda does look like it’s bent in half.

“What _happened.”_ Hyuga growls, reaching over Kagami’s shoulder to press the cloth back to his face. “Keep your head down.”

Kiyoshi reaches over and tilts Kuroko’s head back instead, insisting that’s the right way to do things. Kagami thinks it doesn’t really matter because _really,_ how much blood could he possibly have left to bleed?

“I tried to get a rebound,” Kuroko finally admits. “I was under the basket and then Kagami—”

“ _You_ did this!?” Hyuga screeches, cutting him off.

Kagami bristles. “I didn’t _mean_ to!” he whines. How does he explain this? How does he tell his team that his elbow fucking torpedoed right into Kuroko’s face? “I didn’t see him there, you know how he is!” He looks back up at Kuroko scowls. “Since when do you jump for a fucking rebound anyhow?”

Kuroko, still completely calm despite looking like a victim of war simply shrugs. “I’m trying to improve my individual skills and become a better-rounded player.”

With a slight slap to Kuroko’s knee, Kagami whines again. “Well warn a guy next time!”

“Noted,” Kuroko says flatly, removing the cloth and scrunching his nose tentatively—he groans a bit before Hyuga reaches over and presses the cloth back to his face again.

“What does it feel like?” Izuki asks with the tilt of his head.

“Like Kagami-kun elbowed me in the face.” Okay, that might be what it _feels_ like, but it _looks_ more like Kagami took an industrial strength firework straight to his nose.

Kagami’s head hangs in shame, resting on Kurok’s knee. He kind hopes he’ll jerk his leg up and knee him in the mouth for the retribution he certainly does deserve.

With a laugh, Izuki slaps Kagami on the back. “Coach is going to have your _balls.”_ This time he giggles a bit and adds, _“_ Your _basketballs.”_

“Izuki shut the _fuck_ up!” Kagami growls, although he’s never been more thankful that Coach had some meeting with the school principal for team budgets and couldn’t make it to see him absolutely wreck one of their star players. He scoots closer to Kuroko, trying to wiggle between his legs and carefully removes the cloth once more and holds Kuroko’s hands down in his lap so he can take a good look at the damage. “This shit is worse than Owen Wilson,” he finally decides. “You have to go to the hospital.”

“Who’s Owen Wilson?” Kuroko asks. “Can I have some ice?”

Izuki only sees this as another opportunity for his not-so-bright wit to shine. “Worse than _Picasso.”_

Even Kiyoshi joins in. “His nose is so swollen, I don’t think even I could get my hand around it.”

The absolute worst part is that this is all true.

“Ice,” Kuroko repeats, and he’s starting to sound impatient and rightfully in pain.

“We don’t have any,” Hyuga sighs, reaching into his bag for his cell phone. “I’ll call coach maybe she can—”

“ _Noooo_ ,” Kagami howls gruffly, standing up. “Let me keep my balls for as long as possible, please. I’ll just take him over to the hospital.”

Hyuga shoots him a flat look. “Are you sure you won’t push him into heavy traffic on the way there?”

“ _It was an accident!”_

“Kagami-kun, please calm down,” Kuroko says softly, reaching up to tug on the hem of his t-shirt. His voice is all nasally due to all the blood in his nostrils. “I know it was an accident.”

Ugh, this is the worst. He definitely does not want Kuroko to forgive him any time soon. “Come on,” he says gruffly, pulling the smaller boy to his feet. “You lose any more blood and you’ll need a goddamn transfusion.”

“That would be unfortunate,” Kuroko grumbles, weakly reaching for all his stuff. Kagami grabs it all and throws it over one shoulder. “My blood type is quite rare, they might have a difficult time—”

“I was joking,” Kagami intervenes. Sorta. Kinda. He’s pretty sure broken noses aren’t a cause for blood transfusions, but this was also the worst broken nose in the history of the world past present future and forever more. Surely.

Kagami uses his other hand to guide a swaying Kuroko out of the gym and to the train station. Perfect. Not only did he give his best friend a _shattered_ nose, he probably nearly KO’d him and gave him a concussion in the process.

“Can we stop and get ice on the way to the doctors?” Kuroko asks after he has to pause and brace himself against Kagami’s forearm. This kid isn’t going to make it. Kagami is going to have to carry him to the hospital and explain to the ER staff that no, this kid wasn’t just hit by a truck but rather he hit him in the face with what he guesses is the sharpest elbow in all of Japan.

“What if I get you a vanilla milkshake instead?”

Kuroko seriously considers this. “I don’t think I’d be able to taste it,” he finally says.

Damn it all. “Well then, if you can’t just...put it on your face.”

“Okay.”

It’s exactly what he ends up doing.

And as they're sitting in the waiting room, waiting to be seen, Kagami can’t help but notice that Kuroko nearly has the same amount of vanilla ice cream as he does blood on his chin. He refuses to take the damn shake off his face, even though it’s melting. “Kuroko, you’re, uh…you’re getting…you’ve got a little—”

“ _Hush_.”

“Right. Got it.”


End file.
